Lusso celebrated Christmas with its clients in the grand Venetian tradition, with a masquerade in the magnificent drawing room of Goldsmith’s Hall. The evening showcased Lusso’s talent for flawless food and service and featured fine Italian wines and canapés served by masked, liveried waiters.

Guests from the cream of the city’s legal, media, accountancy and banking firms took a private tour of the Goldsmiths’ exhibition and then enjoyed an operatic performance and a display of silhouette artistry; fortified by a very special Champagne tasting from Laurent Perrier, gourmet canapés created to compliment the Champagnes, and freshly shucked oysters on a giant oyster shell ice sculpture.

A prize draw for a silver-gilt salt cellar from one of the UK’s leading silversmiths saw Christmas come early for one lucky guest.

Julie Kortens, Head of Corporate Services at Channel 4, beat off the competition to win the Facilities Management category for the 2011 Women in the City Woman of Achievement Award at the Celebration evening sponsored by city fine dining caterers Lusso in the Museum of London, Docklands.

Julie was one of seven eminent women who secured success and won their category. The highly competitive award scheme saw a wide variety of talented female executives from across London then go head-to-head to compete for the Women in the City award, announced on Friday 25th November 2011.

Ms Kortens said: “I am extremely proud to be recognised for this award and hope it provides inspiration to other women to take full advantage of the myriad of opportunities the FM profession offers. I look forward to sharing my experience and offering support and guidance to others.

“My role as Head of Corporate Services at Channel 4 brings with it huge responsibility and every day is a challenge but I enjoy it enormously. I am passionate about my job and equally passionate about my team and the fantastic work they do.”

The Facilities Management category is sponsored for the second year running by Lusso, the niche city caterer, and endorsed by the Facilities Management Association. Paul Hurren, Managing Director of Lusso and one of the category judges, presented Julie with her prize at the awards luncheon on Friday 25th November. He commented; “We have the privilege of working alongside many dynamic, passionate people in client organisations. We see this award as an ideal opportunity to recognise the sometimes under-rated yet crucial role that facilities management professionals play within city organisations.

Julie is a deserving and inspirational winner. Her enthusiasm and passion for her career and her ability to impact positively on those who work with her and on the environment in which she works makes her a very positive role model not just for women but for all everyone in FM.”

The overarching aim of the Women in the City Woman of Achievement Award is to highlight and recognise the outstanding contribution these women make to the City and in particular to identify those who are actively promoting and encouraging the progress of women above and beyond their everyday job. The Award identifies excellence and celebrates the achievements of senior and partner-level professionals working in London’s business hubs. Now in its fifth year the Award draws over 350 women to the Annual Women in the City Celebration Lunch in November when the 2011 Woman of Achievement Award Winner is announced.

Lusso chefs took part in an inspiring salt Masterclass with Raymond Blanc OBE at his two Michelin- starred Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons restaurant in Oxfordshire on 15th September.

All part of Lusso's Wellbeing Being Well healthy eating initiative, the event, which was inspired by consultant nutritionist, Amanda Ursell, really lit the fuse wire and sent the chefs off buzzing about how they could reduce salt without comprising flavour. It also underlined the CH&Co group's salt pledge under the Government's Responsibility Deal.

The evening included three thought-provoking salt tests and demonstrations to highlight the many alternatives to seasoning food. Another highlight for the chefs was a tour of the impressive kitchen gardens at Le Manoir.

Raymond Blanc said: "It was great to talk to a group of passionate, craft-trained chefs who already have a very good perception of salt levels but are hungry to learn how they can improve.

"If every chef who took part in this event goes way and uses a little less salt tomorrow, I will have achieved my goal."

Lusso hosted a wonderful evening for Women in the City at the Museum of London Docklands on 2nd November when the seven category winners of this year's Woman of Achievement Awards were announced.

The Facilities Management category award, sponsored by Lusso, went to Julie Kortens, Head of Corporate Services, Channel 4 Television.

Commenting on her award, she said: "I am extremely proud to be recognised for this Award and hope it provides inspiration to other women to take full advantage of the myriad of opportunities the FM profession offers. I look forward to sharing my experience and offering support and guidance to others. My role as Head of Corporate Services at Channel 4 brings with it huge responsibility and every day is a challenge but I enjoy it enormously. I am passionate about my job and equally passionate about my team and the fantastic work they do."

The seven finalists will now go on to compete for the overall 2011 Woman of Achievement Award, which will be presented on Friday, 25th November at the 9th Annual Women in the City Annual Celebration Lunch held at Plaisterers' Hall, London.

Always conscious of miminising its impact on the environment, The Green Team at Investec held a Sustainable Food Day on 21st October 2011.

Patrick Erni, Lusso on-site general manager and a member of The Green Team, explained how Lusso works in partnership with Investec to fulfil its sustainability goals: "As caterers we play an important supporting role in reducing Investec's carbon footprint through our ethical purchasing policies such as our use of Red Tractor and Fairtrade products, and by also keeping food miles as low as possible and by composting waste."

The event also gave the Lusso team an opportunity to demonstrate its on-going commitment to health through its dedicated www.wellbeingbeingwell.co.uk programme. The award-winning journalist, Amanda Ursell, consultant nutritionist to Lusso, was on hand to answer any questions and to explain why replacing meat with vegetables not only makes good environmental sense but can also be beneficial to health.

Patrick continued: "The world simply can't sustain the current levels of meat consumption. There are many clear benefits of reducing meat intake occasionally in favour of a vegetarian dish such as a healthier diet, lower carbon footprint, sustainability and cost."

Executive head chef, Mike Worters, also successfully tested his 'Day Boat' concept, offering the catch of the day in a made-to-order 'fish shop' in line with Lusso's sustainable purchasing ethos.

Lusso has launched a range of calorie-counted salads and sandwiches under its 'Wellbeing Being Well Light' healthy eating label. The new range includes ten sandwiches and five salads, including roast salmon fillet with jewelled cous cous and harissa dressing (327 calories).

The initiative is part of Lusso's parent group, CH&Co's pledge to improve public health under the Government's Responsibility Deal.

The award winning health journalist and consultant nutritionist, Amanda Ursell, has worked closely with Lusso chefs to ensure that each 'light' option is nutritionally balanced and as healthy as possible. She has analysed every single recipe and is currently working on a range of desserts which will be introduced at a later date.

She said:"It's quite a complex process and one of our main concerns has been to ensure that the food tastes great too. Dressings, fillings, breads and protein items have really come under scrutiny and it has been fantastic working so closely with Lusso chefs to achieve the right balance. It's good that they are getting into the spirit of this and taking their responsibility so seriously because they can make a big impact on people's diets during the working day. The Responsibility Deal is entirely voluntary and quite challenging for a business like Lusso, which feeds thousands of City workers every day".

Lusso is sponsoring the Facilities Management category of the Women in the City Awards 2011.

Launched in 2007 the awards recognise senior level women working in London's business hubs, who, in addition to fulfilling a demanding role, are actively encouraging the progress of women.

The Facilities Management category is open to women responsible for a wide range of out-sourced services including catering, cleaning, landscaping, pest control, reception & telephony, security, waste & environmental management, front-of-house services, event management, building management and maintenance.

Applicants will compete first to win their Category Award, with the winners of all seven Category Awards going head-to-head for the coveted Woman of Achievement Award which will be announced at the Women in the City Annual Celebration Lunch on 25 November.

Paul Hurren, managing director of Lusso, said: "This is our second year sponsoring the FM category. As caterers, we have the pleasure of working with many dynamic FM people within the City and we see this as a fantastic opportunity to highlight this essential role which rarely gets the attention it deserves."

On-line nominations open via www.citywomen.co.uk from 27 July and the closing date for the application forms is 23 September.

Lusso is introducing a new generation of rapeseed oil into its restaurants nationwide. The new Essent-oil™ comes from existing suppliers, R-oil, who have worked closely with natural seed breeders, Syngenta Seeds, to produce an oil which has even more health benefits.

Paul Hurren, managing director of Lusso, said: "We first introduced rapeseed oil into our restaurants over four years ago because it has one third less saturated fat than sunflower oil and less than half that of olive oil or corn oil. Essent-oil is building further on this initiative to ensure that our customers reap the additional health benefits."

One of the key improvements is that levels of Omega 6 essential fats have been reduced to provide an optimum balance with Omega 3s.

Amanda Ursell, consultant nutritionist to Lusso explains: "All rapeseed oils give us a mix of important Omega 6 and Omega 3 essential fats. While we definitely benefit nutritionally from Omega 6 essential fats, over the last 100 years, our diets have changed dramatically in composition. By eating more Omega 6-rich oils like sunflower, soy and corn oil which is used in everything from cooking oils and spreads to products like biscuits, cakes and ready meals,  our ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 has become out of kilter. We now have twenty to thirty times more of the former compared to the latter. Essent-oil has taken a step in the direction by helping to rebalance this ratio by lowering its Omega 6 content."